Mom Is Teaching

It’s Spring! Which means crazy weather as the warmth and cold mix and mingle. Here in Oklahoma that means tornado season starts picking up. I thought I would put together a few links and ideas about tornadoes if anyone was interested in doing a unit study on them. Tornadoes really are amazing, hypnotic acts of nature. That is, when you’re not in the line of sight of one.

• Tornado guide from the U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Weather Service A great guide on what tornadoes are, what causes them, and some safety guidelines.
• The Tornado Project - A little bit of everything, worth check out for images and videos.
• National Geographic has Tornado lesson plans for kinds in K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12 grades.
• Make A Tornado - A fun project for younger children (K-5) to make their own little tornado in a bottle.
• Tornado! - Lesson plans for older kids (grades 6-8) from Discovery.
• Tornadoes Lesson plan - Short lesson for Junior High and High School aged kids, teaches them to predict tornadoes and includes an online quiz at the end.
• The Fujita Scale of Tornado Intensity - Explains how tornadoes are rated and what puts the “F” in an F4.

A few good tornado books to look for would be

• Under the Whirlwind: Everything You Need to Know About Tornadoes But Didn’t Know Who to Ask - Jerrine Verkaik
• Tornadoes - H. Michael Mogil
• Storm Chaser: In Pursuit of Untamed Skies - Warren Faidley
• Do Tornadoes Really Twist? - Melvin Berger, Gilda Berger
• Tornadoes - Jean Allen
• The Weather Book: An Easy-to-Understand Guide to the USA’s Weather - Jack Williams

If you don’t live somewhere that tornadoes are a hazard, or just want to check them out from the safety of your couch, just search for tornado footage on YouTube. There are several videos online of real tornadoes in action, such as this video that will put your heart in your chest a couple times as they record a tornado ripping right next to them. You can also watch live footage of the recent tornado that ripped through Atlanta.

tornado, tornadoes, weather, lesson plans

This is probably more along the lines of something you would see discussed at Homeschooler Savvy, but it was so cool I could not resist sharing it myself.

One very artistic mom created a dollhouse for her daughter as an exact replica of Frida Kahlo’s Studio. The detail work is amazing! I have spent hours staring at her photos and trying to see all of the special touches that she did to create such an amazing dollhouse. It is a work of art in and of itself. And it’s a way for her to teach her daughter more about Frida’s life and art.

I made this miniature dollhouse for my daughter because I wanted her to learn about Frida Kahlo. This was such a fun project to make. It took me months to complete it but I am glad that I did it. Natalie loves it and once in a while we play with it on the kitchen table. She likes anything that is tiny just like her Mom. Next year I want to finish another dollhouse for her that I started last year but this one is bigger.

Suddenly I’m absolutely inspired, and wishing I had far more talent. Maybe I could glue some sticks together and call it Lincoln’s log cabin. Even if you can’t create beautiful dollhouses like Elsita does you can still use the idea as a great educational tool. You could try to create the homes of people in various time periods or create famous places. Depending on the ages of your children you could easily turn it into a family project, completing a little more each night and learning about the place and time you are building.

You can combine history, social studies and art all in one. Even a little math if you try to work everything to scale or just try to build the house yourself. eHow has an article on how to make dollhouses you can check out. For those a little more frugal or environmentally friendly FamilyFun has one for using household items in your dollhouse. You can create everything from a soap box toilet to a tea box fridge. Here is another simple one for using household trash recycled into dollhouse furniture. If you’re not sure where to begin you can download house plans for only $8 from Dollhouse Designs.

Have fun creating and learning!

doll house, dollhouse, crafts, creative, education, lesson plans, unit study

It is cold and snowing outside. Which means we’re curled up eating warm pancakes covered in melted peanut butter, sliced bananas, and drinking hot cocoa with marshmallows. The perfect winter breakfast!

I cannot believe that today is the last day of January. The year has just begun and it is already flying by too fast. Groundhog day is coming up next. Homeschooling in the Ozarks has a ton of activities and coloring pages and more for Groundhog’s day.

February also includes Charles Dickens’ Day on the 7th, Thomas Edison’s birthday on the 11th, Abraham Lincoln’s birthday on the 12th, Susan B. Anthony’s birthday on the 15th, and George Washington’s birthday on the 22nd. Clearly, February is a great month to be born in.

February is also Black History Month in the US. History.com has a great section on Black History Month to explore. I found a ton of great lesson plans and printables to use.

Of course there is also the big V day, Valentine’s Day. You can find a great history behind the holiday here. Be sure to turn your speakers on as there is a video that starts playing that talks about the history and modern traditions.

Now I’m going to make another cup of hot cocoa and curl up with my knitting on the couch. I still can’t believe January is practically over. The rest of the year better slow down!

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homeschooling, February, February holidays, holidays, lesson plans, Charles Dickens, Thomas Edison, Abraham Lincoln, Susan B. Anthony, George Washington, Black History Month, Valentine’s Day

It’s November and the Winter Bazaar is still going! I know that I forgot to post something last week, but hopefully I can remember to keep up. I am having a lot of fun reading all the great ideas people are sharing.

This week I wanted to share a recipe for this coming Thanksgiving. My mother’s father is Native American, not that you could tell by looking at my pasty face. But if you ever saw my mother you would know in a heartbeat. So having some Native Amrican dishes is an important tradition in my house. One of my favorite dishes is 3 Sisters Stew. It is a warm, earthy stew made from corn, squash, and beans. The famous three sister’s themselves. Many people enjoy skipping the normal turkey dinner for thanksgiving and instead try an alternative meal idea. Serving a big pot of this stew is a great option, especially if you have any vegetarian guests coming over. You can serve it with fry bread for a traditional meal, or just make a loaf of homemade bread to dip into it.

Here is the recipe:

1 large butternut squash
2 cups corn kernels
2 cups cooked pinto beans
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 medium tomatoes, diced
1 cup vegetable stock
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro

Preheat oven to 400*F. Cut the squash into half lengthwise and remove all seeds and fibers. Cover with foil and place halves, cut side up, into oven for 40 - 45 minutes. Remove from oven when soft enough to pierce with fork yet still firm and let cool. While cooling heat the oil in a large pot. Saute the onion and garlic until golden. Add the corn, beans, tomatoes, and vegetable stock to the pot and simmer. Scoop out the pulp of the squash and cube into bite sized pieces. Add cubes to the pot. Continue simmering, covered, for about 25-30 minutes. Stir in cilantro just before serving.

And while you are enjoying the stew here are some great links to browse through.

• The Three Sisters: Corn, Beans & Squash
• Native American Stories
• Indigenous Food and Native American Recipes
• American Indian versus Native American
• Trail of Tears
• Activities to Celebrate Native American Heritage
• American Indian History and Culture

Three Sisters Stew, recipes, food

13 Things You Didn’t Know Were Educational I think we’ve all been there. Doing something mundane and ordinary when suddenly it becomes a teaching moment for our kids. Who knew that every moment of your day is an opportunity for kids to learn? When you break free from the “learning only happens from 8-3″ mindset the number of moments that we see as educational blossoms. Here are a few of the fun ones we’ve had lately. 1. Watching the moss grow. I know, it’s moss. But the green stuff fasinates my boys. Pull some up from the sidewalk, pull out the magnifying glass, and fire up Google. 2. Pouring a bowl of cereal. “Where does creal come from? Who makes it? Why? Why? Why?” This is why mommy needs coffee in the morning. He’s ready to learn before I’m out of my jammies and fuzzy slippers. 3. Doing the laundry. “Mommy why is your silver shirt so soft? What’s silk? Let’s go find silk worms in the back yard! What do you mean they aren’t out there?” 4. Going to the post office. We’ve got math (paying for postage), history (Why does this building look so old?), and that socializing everyone keeps talking about (Honey, the nice woman needs to get back to work now. You can stop talking anytime now…) 5. Taking a picture. Especially when I go old school and pull out the polaroid. 6. Driving. Anywhere. Especially if you’re packed right. 7. Paying bills. There’s more of the socialization and a chance to be questioned fifty million times if the electric company will really turn off the power if I buy the boys toys instead of paying the bills. 8. Looking through old photo albums. I think explaining why mommy used to dress so funny is a lesson in history, culture, and society that no child should be without. 9. Finding a dead bird on the front porch. Next to a very content cat. That was difficult to explain without tears. My own included. 10. Checking my email. With a pre/early reader in the house I can’t get on for 5 minutes without “What does that spell? What does that say? That’s an E! And there’s a D! And…” 11. Going to the park. Sure it seems like just a bunch of fun, but there are also some great educational moments. Like if you spin mommy too fast on the merry-go-round she will need to lay very still in the grass for at least 15 minutes. 12. Having a baby. Ask anyone with more than 1 child how much their older kids learned by having a sibling. Just changing diapers alone is a learning experience for everyone. 13. Visiting the grandparents. What can’t you learn when sitting on Papa’s lap?

Thursday Thirteen, homeschooling, education, kids, fun

Today is Blog Action Day, the day when bloggers are encouraged to write about the environment on their blogs. The purpose is to get the word out all over the internet about environmental issues going on. Back in June I did several environmental posts during Low impact Week, but I thought I wanted to share some eco-friendly homeschooling ideas.

Helping kids learn about the environment and about environmental issues can be a difficult task. Luckily there are many sites that can help you find info. Thre is a great Footprint Calculator that shows how large an impact your family has on the environment. That would be a great starting place to let your children see where you are making the largest and smallest impacts in your daily lives. Another site that I love is Breathing Earth. It is an amzing simulation that shows carbon emission levels, as well as birth and death rates, around the globe in real time. it is fascinating to watch the pulse of life on the earth.

If your kids are getting interested in things they can do or change Tree hugger has a great reference of things that anyone can do to go green. There are tons of ideas there for everyday things such as baby care, cleaning, outdoor sports, and so much more. It’s definately a great spot to check out and get some ideas. You can also had over to We Can Live Green to see what products and services are environmentally friendly. Have your kids make a shopping list of just eco-friendly products. It would be a great challenge!

If you are looking for a good movie to watch you can scroll through the listings of environemtnal documentaries at IMDB you could look for at your local video rental or check out Green TV to see what videos are uploaded there.

Does anyone else have any great sites with eco-friendly ideas for kids? Leave a comment and share them here!

Blog Action Day, homeschooling, environment

OK folks, help me out here. I’m sure that I’ missing something, but what could it be?

Enki Education
Waldorf (And a part 2 here)
Unschooling
Montessori
Classical
Charlotte Mason
Unit Studies
Eclectic
Literature Based
Principled Approach
Homeschooling Online

So what do you think? What special method am I missing? Once I’ve covered all the specific methods I’ll go over the various curriculums out there.

homeschool, homeschooling, curriculum, Method Madness Monday

Well here we are at another Monday. This week I want to talk about a fun method that many homeschoolers dip into from time to time. The Unit Studies aproach. Sometimes called thematic units or integrated studies, the unit studies approach is teaching everything in one unti rather than spread out as several different subjects. There is a common theme running amoung every thing you do and all the areas are blended together. What is great about this is children get to experience how the world around them in interconnected rather than solitary.

Choosing to do with units is easily adapted to almost anyother style of teaching that parents choose to use. You can loosely mesh things together or neatly tie everything into one package. With a little creative adjusting on the parents part you can change any pre-packaged curriculum to fit a more “themed” aproach. If you ahve children of various age groups you can also create units that everyone can learn in their own ways.

So, how do you explain unit studies to someone who might not be familiar? My personal favorite analogy is the pizza. Take a topic, say the ocean, this is the crust. Now add some sauce all across it with some science on how the oceans came to be, some biology on what lives in the oceans, and maybe some math by plotting the low and high tides during a month. Next we sprinkle on the toppings by reading books and poems about the ocean, research sea battles, learn about various island nations, learn about the effects of commercial whaling, find out why the ocean is so salty, … The possibilities are endless and yet all still piled together on that same crust.

Some great links for you to explore are:
Unit Study Helps
The Joy and Ease of Learning Through Child-led Unit Studies
Learning Success with Unit Studies and More
Home Schooling With Frugal Unit Studies
Unit Study Ideas
A collection of great Unit Study links